The Woman with 7 Personalities
- Episode aired Oct 18, 2004
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
113
YOUR RATING
A childhood friend tries to uncover 7 personalities of Helen.A childhood friend tries to uncover 7 personalities of Helen.A childhood friend tries to uncover 7 personalities of Helen.
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Did you know
- ConnectionsReferences The Wombles (1973)
- SoundtracksHelen's Song
Written & Performed by Yaeli Heim and Ruth Selwyn
Featured review
Now some insight from an actual Multiple
Look...I don't care how 'interested' you are in psychology, how 'fascinated' someone is with DID (It is Dissociative IDENTITY Disorder, not Dissociative 'personality' disorder. Start with that). In fact, it often seems to me that those most 'fascinated' by what they THINK DID should look like are the ones usually vastly disappointed by the real thing. Why? Because it doesn't look like Sybil or the Exorcist. I rate this from the perspective of an actual MULTIPLE who is here to tell you that those of us who actually live with it are so sick to death over trash like Split and Identity and whatever excrement Hollywood cranks out, that we welcome more documentarian efforts like this one. Are you all seriously rating this with the beef that it wasn't 'directed' very well? That the director who said she was a friend doesn't seem very friendly with Helen? So what? This woman did Helen and all Multiples a favor by putting something out there that is trying to bring awareness and enlightenment to a condition that people have because they've suffered unspeakable, severe trauma since before they even had a 'me'. Multiplicity only comes to be when a VERY young child endures evils most can't imagine. So please don't say you're very 'interested' in 'Psychology' and act like you know what it SHOULD look like, while picking apart Helen and her alters, making your not even amateur judgement that it is or is not real. Let me clue you in on something about DID and OSDD (ya...go look that one up if you really want to learn something): It is messy. It doesn't follow a protocol. It doesn't look or act or behave exactly the same for all people with Multiplicity. You are dealing with PEOPLE here. People who went through their OWN, very personal traumas. There is no such thing as 'the same thing' with Complex trauma and Dissociative Disorders.
The degree of trauma, types of trauma, ages during the traumas, support and validation by others or LACK thereof, the degree of amnesia one has, etc etc, all factor in to what any one system may look like. There will be differences. But I guarantee you that this is real and it does a much better service to Multiples than the crud you THINK you know about DID and what you EXPECT to see for entertainment purposes. Sorry this tiny budget, two woman show documentary wasn't as entertaining as a multimillion dollar box office hit. If you want to be fascinated and entertained, stick with the excrement. If you truly are interested and want to LEARN about the condition, watch things like this and The Many Sides of Jane. If you are not at least a Masters level, better yet PhD Psychologist or a Psychiatrist, OR someone who actually IS Multiple.....save your 'expert opinions' about the validity of Helens DID. Even many of them get it wrong. Flat earthers are still stuck in the 1980's, decrying iatrogenic and 'fake' and worried about false memories, etc. Can alters actually be called to 'front'? For some, YES, they can and do respond to people they trust. No, it is not always unpredictable and rapid 'rolodexing'/switching at random. Helen probably didn't 'refuse' to talk, she probably legitimately doesn't have access to the memory, emotions or context of some aspects of her trauma at different times. That is what Dissociation IS by nature. A protective barrier (or several). Read up on the leading experts in the field of Complex Trauma disorders and Dissociative Disorders today. Talk to actual people who have the condition and find out what it really CAN look like and what it usually doesn't look like.
We've come a long way. We still have a longer way to go. But rejecting the real thing while praising the garbage is going the opposite direction. So good for Helen and her system for having the courage to make this! Good for her director and yes, friend, who elucidates for people what it can actually be like. And I'm sorry....you're really worried about how much money the director got from this little snippet?? PLEASE!!! How much did the writers, directors and producers of rubbish like Split get?? Do you care about that? At least this director is telling the truth and spreading awareness while she breaks even or makes a little.
No. I'm sorry. The general public knows nothing about DID. So please...don't pretend to be the critic here on Helen and whether her experiences are real. If you didn't like it and would rather watch Fight Club, then you just want sensationalism, not truth.
Why did I only give it 7? Well because I would have liked to see more involvement from experts in the field and I did think it could be choppy. But so can DID. Overall a wonderful and brave effort by Helen and her director/friend to portray something beautifully horrific in a raw and real way.
helpful•11
- stacm-white_06
- Sep 23, 2019
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